Banff - Alberta's Rockies place first for spectacular natural attractions

(BANFF, Alberta) Lonely Planet, known universally and informally as the traveller’s bible, ranked the Canadian Rockies as the number one destination for spectacular natural attractions.

“Made up of four national parks and totalling the size of England, Mother Nature started moulding the Rockies' mountains, waterfalls and glaciers a mere 75 million years ago,” says Lonely Planet in the organization’s new book Bluelist– 618 Things To Do and Places To Go 06-07. “This World Heritage-listed area is also home to some major wildlife.”

Published in December 2005, Bluelist “captures the world's hottest trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the year ahead.”

The new book also names Banff National Park as the fifth most extreme environment in the world and ranks The Rocky Mountaineer – a scenic train that travels between Calgary and Vancouver – as third on the world’s Classic Train Trips list. But that’s not all. Bluelist also ranks Banff as third on the list of Must-Visit Places in Canada, beating out the likes of Quebec, Vancouver, Ottawa, Newfoundland and Whistler.

On top of Banff’s high ranking in the latest LP guide, the mountain town also has the enviable position of being sandwiched between the two best cities in the world for business travel.

First place went to Vancouver, situated about 1,000 kilometres west of Banff, while neighbouring Calgary came in second in the survey done by The Economist Magazine. Crime, climate, transport and recreation all played a part in the index, which took into account things that “help to make business tolerable, or even a pleasure.”

Banff Lake Louise Tourism is a dynamic membership-based organization focused on delivering excellence in tourism promotion. The team is a results-oriented marketing group committed to promoting Banff, Lake Louise and Banff National Park as a world class, year round international tourism destination.